1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an autostereoscopic display and method of displaying multidimensional images thereon. More particularly, the autostereoscopic display of the present invention includes two lenticular arrays positioned between a viewer and a pixel array. Lenses within the first lenticular array closest to the pixel array have a pitch that corresponds to the pitch of the color pixels of pixel array. Lenses within the second lenticular array have a different pitch than corresponding pixel groups within the pixel array. An autostereoscopic display in accordance with the present invention is particularly advantageous for creating stereoscopic displays in conjunction with color pixel arrays.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, three-dimensional displays of images have been achieved by using stereoscopic displays. A stereoscopic display is a display that provides multidimensional image cues to a viewer by combining two alternative two-dimensional views of the same object or scene. Each view is observed by one of the viewer's eyes and the two views are subsequently integrated by the human visual system to form a three-dimensional image perceived by the viewer. A simple example is the integration of overlapped red and green images by a viewer wearing glasses with a red-color filter over one eye and a green-color filter over the other eye.
An autostereoscopic display is a form of stereoscopic display that requires no special glasses or head-mounted equipment to bring the alternative views to each of the viewer's eyes. Conventional autostereoscopic displays have been implemented based on light emitting lines that direct interlaced left and right eye images to a viewer's left and right eyes, respectively. Such an implementation requires construction of a specialized flat panel display incorporating light emitting lines capable of replacing conventional backlighting sources.
Other conventional autostereoscopic displays have been proposed with lenses positioned in alignment with display picture elements, such that interlaced left and right eye images directed at fixed angles do not necessarily represent a viewer's actual left and right eye viewing zones. Conventionally, this implementation also required construction of a specialized flat-panel display incorporating cylindrical lenses embedded within the display picture elements structure. Furthermore, because the lenses were aligned, interference pattern noise or moiré patterns result from spatial mismatches between pixel edges and cylindrical lens edges when viewed off-axis. In addition, the alignment results in projection of images outside the viewer's proper left and right eye viewing zones.
A recently developed system comprises a display and displaying method that substantially obviates many of the problems, limitations and disadvantages associated with the above-discussed related art. That device and method disclosed provides real-time autostereoscopic viewing of multidimensional images using conventional or existing flat screen display technology for black and white or color images. However there are some limitations associated with that system and method when employed in connection with color pixel displays.
Color displays are normally constructed with pixels each comprising a plurality of color elements (such as red, green, blue) arranged alongside each other along a generally horizontal line of the display as oriented in its position of intended use. Because of this it is common in such conventional displays of the green pixels to vertically align with each other. The red and blue pixels are often aligned in a similar fashion. In order to create stereoscopic displays in conjunction with a color pixel display, the recently developed system requires the display to be rotated ninety degrees, so that the color elements of the pixels are arranged vertically one above the other, in order to orient the pixels appropriately with respect to a lenticular array of the apparatus. This then requires modification to the driving convention for the display. It also limits the extent to which existing or conventional displays can be adapted to provide stereoscopic images. That is, it is not a simple matter to adapt a standard display to provide stereoscopic images because the display must be rotated ninety degrees to an orientation in which it is not intended to be used.
The present invention overcomes this limitation by providing an improved autostereoscopic display apparatus and method. The apparatus and method of the present invention is particularly adapted for use in displaying stereoscopic images using a conventional display array comprising color pixels.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part, will become apparent from the detailed description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.